Amy Winehouse was a truly unique artist ahead of her time, and whilst her music may have been rooted in the sounds of ’50s jazz and ’60s girl-groups like The Shangri-Las, Winehouse was a breath of fresh air in an era where authenticity is now highly regarded. However, the challenge with depicting such an idiosyncratic figure is that it’s easy to come across as somewhat rehearsed. This is something Marisa Abela appears to avoid in her portrayal of Winehouse in the new biopic, which has been a long time coming.
When we first meet a youthful Amy Winehouse, singing awkwardly for her family at their London home, there’s an air of defensiveness that feels familiar, an indication that perhaps this is someone always on the lookout for detractors. Fortunately, Abela soon warms up and puts in a mesmerising performance that captures Winehouse’s blend of self-assuredness and vulnerability. Back To Black director Sam Taylor-Johnson is on hand to chart the singer’s meteoric rise to fame, from her early beginnings in North London to the top of the charts and global acclaim. The director achieves this with ease, effortlessly capturing the authenticity of the moments as Winehouse’s music resonates with listeners from all over the world.
The pub encounters between Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) are particularly evocative, capturing the forced malaise of the period perfectly, and the essence of Camden in its prime. Meanwhile, the presence of Winehouse’s on-screen grandmother Cynthia (Lesley Manville) is beautifully captured, though the singer’s mother Janis (Juliet Cowan) is afforded less time to make her presence felt. Amy’s famously outspoken father Mitch (Eddie Marsan) is depicted more sympathetically than Asif Kapadia’s Amy documentary – a “fairytale” he himself had previously spoken out against.
Of course, any depiction of Amy Winehouse’s life and career was always going to be met with scepticism and accusations of exploitation, particularly given the high level of scrutiny she received while alive, but Taylor-Johnson’s direction ensures such concerns are unfounded. The ending of the film is deftly executed, with a nod to the unique nature of a talent all too easily filed away as nothing more than a tragic artist.
Whilst comparing anything to Winehouse’s 2006 album Back to Black may be a tall order, this biopic is more than deserving of its audience, offering a reminder of the unique spirit that so inspired her audience. With a stunning original score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, including Cave’s own “Song For Amy,” a heartfelt yet effortless coda fitting for a worthy biopic, Back To Black is sure to leave its mark on viewers keen to delve deeper into the world of the artist herself.
Back to Black is out in cinemas from April 12 and features an impressive cast including Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell and Lesley Manville, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson
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